Head of the Exporters of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products’ Syndicate: Iran’s private sector will play a role in crude oil exports to bypass sanctions

Hassan Khosrojerdi added that the syndicate would assume the task of exporting 20% of Iran’s oil exports to new markets. “On this basis, the private sector can export 20% of Iran’s crude oil or 400,000 barrels bpd.” He added, “Last year the Oil Ministry agreed with our proposition on private sector participation in oil exports.” Khosrojerdi pointed to the sanctions against Iran’s Central Bank, which handles receipts from oil sales, saying the sale of crude oil by the private sector would bypass this restriction, and that the sale of oil by the private sector is a way to circumvent the sanctions. Jerdi said that the Oil Ministry has imposed certain conditions for the private sector. One of them is the sale of crude oil to British and French refineries of Shell and Total. He said that the syndicate managed to export USD 18 billion in oil and gas based products, including petrochemicals. He projected that once the private sector starts crude oil export activities, the volume of the syndicate’s exports would increase to USD 30 billion in the current Iranian calendar year (ends March 20, 2013).